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Peas and Rice posted:Is there a way to make them go, um, un-broody? Chido has mentioned all the usual ways. The alternative is to find someone in your area who has fertile eggs, and slip them under your hen. Or you can order chicks from a hatchery, and slip them under her. Once the chicks get older, and Ms. Broody is done raising them, you can sell them or keep them. Letting a chicken raise chicks is especially good if you want to add birds to your flock. If they are raised by a mother with the rest of the flock, the other chickens will accept them, so you skip the often difficult and occasionally bloody integration part.
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Nov 4, 2011 07:30
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I think that chickens would be all about that as a treat. On the subject of treats, watermelon and tomatoes are like crack for my chickens.
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Nov 22, 2011 08:25
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How much space do they have for a run? If the chickens seem happy and unstressed, they probably have enough space.
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Dec 4, 2011 08:44
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Allterian: I'm not aware of any battery hen specific rescues in the US. There are a few farm animal rescues that accept chickens, although from what I've seen a lot of them seem to be run by vegans, and adopting from them can be challenging. As I recall, one of them makes you promise not to eat the eggs. At the moment, the best thing to do is to raise your own chickens, or to buy eggs from someone who takes good care of their birds, to reduce the demand for cheap, inhumanely produced eggs.
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Jan 15, 2012 07:25
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Most EE's are at least medium sized, so they should be ok. If you want EE's, I'd suggest buying from Myer Hatchery, since they are the only one who's EEs will consistently lay blue or green eggs. Speaking of eggs, how is everyone's hens laying right now? Mine are loving the freakishly warm weather, I'm getting between 4 and 5 dozen eggs a week from 11 hens.
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Feb 5, 2012 08:31
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I agree that she looks like a black sex-link, she's way too small to be a Jersey Giant, and she's not fluffy enough to be an Australorp, plus her comb is on the big side for an Australorp. You should get her some buddies, a lone chicken is a lonely chicken. Check out Craigslist to see if anyone in your area is selling. If you decide to get chicks, they need to stay inside until they are fully feathered, which takes about a month.
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Feb 6, 2012 05:57
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It sounds like you've got an egg eater, which could be why they left her in the coop when they moved. The advice about filling a egg with mustard sometimes works, I've also heard people say they've had good luck with putting a wooden or plastic egg in, because the chicken can't eat it. It can be a very hard behavior to break, and worse, she can teach it to other chickens. In my area, a pullet that has just started laying, or is about to lay goes for around $20, so that price doesn't sound outrageous to me, but chicken prices can vary a lot depending on where you are. In other news, a friend of mine ordered 25 Easter Eggers from Meyer Hatchery that should arrive today or tomorrow, and I'm getting six of them. I'll try to post pictures of the little fuzzy butts when they arrive. :3
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Feb 9, 2012 20:21
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I went to a chicken show on Saturday with some people I met on Backyard Chickens, and had a great time. There were a ton of chickens, it was really cool to get to see breeds in person that I'd only seen in pictures before. I also got to see a couple of the biggest cocks that I've ever seen. Don't look at me like that! There was a Buff Orphington and a Australorp who had to be at close to two feet tall, and must have weighed over twelve pounds. Other highlights included watching the people getting their chickens ready for the judges. The amount of preening and grooming was kind of hilarious. I got to hold and pet a silkie chicken, which was kind of odd, since the feathers felt like really soft fur. There were a pair of Coronation Sussex there, which was neat to see, they are very striking in person. The other highlight was the Sumatras, which are totally black, including their skin, although the feathers had really beautiful green, blue and purple iridescence. There were also a ton of bantams at the show, which were very, very cute, especially the males, who sounded like pissed off squeaky toys when they crowed. And then, after the show, I came home to my fuzzy butts. I've currently got ten chicks in the brooder. I got six Easter Eggers from a friend and when I went to the feed store to get chick feed, they'd just gotten in a shipment of chicks. and I'd been thinking about getting another Rhode Island Red, and I've been wanting to try a Buff Orphington for awhile.....so I ended up buying four more chicks. My current plan is to raise them until they are about to lay, and then sell off the ones I don't like. Probably along with a couple of my current flock, since I don't want two white Leghorns, and the Silver Laced Wyandotte, while pretty, is a poor layer and lacks personality.
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Feb 15, 2012 05:00
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'Sup, BYC buddy?  My username is AZKat, lately I've mainly been posting in the Arizona thread, otherwise I lurk.
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Feb 15, 2012 16:09
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My chickens ignored the nest boxes and lay in one corner of the coop. I don't argue with them, I figure they know more about laying eggs than I do.
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Feb 16, 2012 05:30
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If she just started laying, they will get bigger, the first few eggs are usually pretty small. Also, after she's been laying for a year or two, the eggs will increase in size, even as she lays a bit less often.
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Feb 20, 2012 02:47
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If Rusty is stubbornly broody, the best thing to do might be to let her hatch some eggs. Otherwise, she may keep being broody, and get in pretty bad shape.
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Feb 22, 2012 21:54
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Ceridwen posted:What do you do if it happens and you don't have a rooster? Do you have to buy fertilized eggs for the hen to hatch out? You can do what Tim suggested and put them in a wire cage, you can also try to kick them off the nest, or put ice cubes under them. If you want them to hatch chicks, or if you have a broody who will not give up, you can either get fertile eggs from someone who has a rooster, or you can get day-old chicks and stick them under under her. Chickens are pretty dumb, so if she's been sitting on the eggs for around 21 days, and you pull the eggs (I'd suggest using wooden ones, since rotten eggs stink) out from under her, and stick the chicks under her, she'll figure the chicks came from the eggs. Its best to do it at night, and I've found that it also helps if all the chicks look similar. If you're putting eggs under her, its even simpler. Just stick the fertile eggs under her at night, and she'll do the rest. Watching a mother hen take care of chicks is sweet and hilarious, and its also by far the easiest way to raise chicks and introduce new birds into your flock.
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Feb 23, 2012 01:23
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Even wilder than Polish are Appenzeller Spitzhauben. They have mohawks! http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/Appenzeller-Spitzhauben-B11.aspx
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Feb 28, 2012 20:26
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Seriously, that is too many freaking roosters. The proper ratio is around 6:1, so if she is going to keep all the roosters, she needs a lot more hens. If she isn't willing to eat them, then they need to go to new homes. Now that I've been all cranky, I will tell a cute chicken story! I've currently got ten chicks living on my patio, who are about three weeks old. The brooder is a large wire dog crate, which has a plastic tray for the floor, which eventually starts to get gross, even though its covered with a layer of bedding. So, yesterday I took it out and hosed it down, and while it was drying and getting exposed to UV, I let the chicks run around and do chicken things for a couple of hours, since it was a nice warm afternoon. Then, an hour or so before dark I go out to make sure they have food and water, and put them all back in the brooder. At that point, all of them were in the brooder, except for the smaller of the two Buff Orpington chicks. So I start looking and listening. No sign of the chick. I get my kids to come look with me. No sign of her. Finally, after about half an hour, we gave up, figuring that she'd gotten eaten by a cat or otherwise met a sad end. Then, this afternoon, I go outside, and I start hearing what sounds like a chick's distressed peeping, so I look all over the place, and can't find her at all. After doing this for awhile, I decide to just open up the brooder, hoping that maybe she and the rest of her flock will find each other. I go out to run some errands, and come back and sure enough, there she is with the rest of the chicks. I have no idea where she was or how she did it, but she somehow managed to survive on her own for almost an entire day, including being on her own over night. She is none the worse for her ordeal that I can tell, and I've decided to name her 'Buffy' since she clearly has some sort of superpowers.
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Mar 2, 2012 06:12
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This was a really rough week on the chicken front. A month ago, I'd caught Rosie, my RIR oranged beaked as she was eating an egg. I'd thought I'd had an egg eater for awhile, and after trying the usual wooden eggs, and putting mustard in eggs, on Saturday I butchered her. Then, on Monday I caught Thing One, one of my two white leghorns, eating eggs. Since my previous attempts to cure egg eaters had been so pointless, I went ahead and butchered her that day. It really sucked, because I liked both of them, and they were good layers, but I couldn't see any other option, other than letting them teach the rest of the flock how to eat eggs. Right now, I'm just crossing my fingers it was just those two.
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Mar 13, 2012 22:26
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I just wanted to throw in my two cents on Craigslist, since I've sold chicken's there. Buying on Craigslist is not a way of making sure that you're getting 'local' chicks or that you are getting superior birds. At best, you'll get someone like me, who raises a few 'extra' chicks to laying age, and then sells them to help cover feed. At worst, you'll get unhealthy birds, or someone who is looking to get rid of poor layers, old birds or behavior problems. In defense of hatcheries, the that sell to feed stores, are not, for the most part, ones that are selling to huge industrial egg producers. They tend to specialize in rare and heritage breeds, and by helping to maintain a market for those birds, are doing a lot to help preserve the genetic diversity of chickens. Some hatcheries are better than others, both in terms of the way that they treat their breeding stock, and in the quality of that stock, but its important to remember that "hatchery" isn't equivalent to 'puppy mill'.
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Mar 23, 2012 06:20
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D'awww. What cute little chickies.
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Mar 24, 2012 07:55
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Jenner posted:Do home-raised eggs actually have less cholesterol? I heard this somewhere and I'm curious about the fact to it. It doesn't seem to me the nutritional components of an egg would alter that much just from a change in environment. It isn't the environment that makes a difference, its the diet. Most back yard chickens are running around, getting fresh air and sunshine, chasing bugs, and most importantly, eating grass and weeds. If you don't free range, tossing weeds and grass clippings into the run is just fine. Mother Earth News has some good articles on the virtues of pasture raised eggs. http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs.aspx Mother Earth News also has a interesting article on the results of an experiment that was done to test the various ways of storing eggs. http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/1977-11-01/Fresh-Eggs.aspx?page=4 The whole thing is worth reading, but the upshot is that if you keep unwashed eggs in a air tight container in the fridge, they'll be good to eat for at least six months.
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Apr 1, 2012 06:05
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Short Tail looks pretty rooish to me. Its hard to be sure at this age, but the redness of the comb, the pointy feathers on the neck and the shortness of the tail feathers all make me think that he's a cockerel.
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Apr 2, 2012 08:35
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Cerdiwen: It should be obvious around two or three months, but some birds you really can't tell until they either start crowing or start laying eggs.
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Apr 3, 2012 06:15
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For breeds that do well in cold weather, anything fluffy and with a small comb will usually do well. Either Easter Eggers or Ameraucanas are always a good choice, they seem to do well in almost any environment. When you're thinking of fridge candy, keep in mind that brown eggs come in all shades, the Meyer Hatchery paper catalogue has pictures of eggs to give you an idea of color.
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Apr 6, 2012 04:13
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So, I now have three more pullets. Its a long story. Today, I got a text from a buddy who is also a chicken owner, about his son's friend's dad's chickens. He had to get rid of them, because of complaints from a neighbor. Who the neighbor was or what the complaint was I don't know, because they were all girls, and only three months old. Apparently a HoA was involved, so it could have been anything. Anyway, the text also said that if he couldn't find someone to take the chickens right away, he was going to turn them loose in the desert, where they'd likely either die or be eaten by coyotes. My friend didn't want that to happen, but he didn't want to take them, because his flock has been sick and he didn't want to risk adding more birds until he got things under control. So, he asked me. And, I'm a sucker, and also like free stuff, so I said yes, and gave the dude a call. They were three months old, all girls and he didn't know what kinds. I got the address and headed out. Thankfully, they appeared to be healthy and in fairly good shape. As soon as I got there, and got a look at them, it was obvious that two of them were black sex-links. I had no idea what the other one was, but some research on the internet let me figure out that she is a California White. I've tried to stay away from the high production hybrids, as they usually don't lay well past the second year, but they seem to be finding me this year. Now, I just need to decide how many of these new pullets, if any I'm going to keep.
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Apr 7, 2012 06:18
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Get 25 chicks and sell the extras on craigslist. Its pretty easy, as long as you order 'cool' breeds.
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Apr 10, 2012 22:13
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Egg binding is one of those things that can happen, but isn't super common. It also happens more often with chickens that are bred for super-high production and large eggs, so you can cut down on your odds of this particular problem by getting heritage breeds.
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Apr 12, 2012 06:58
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D'aww. Those are some seriously cute little chicks.
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Apr 12, 2012 22:26
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When they're stuck in the coop, make sure you provide them with 'enviromental enrichment' so that they don't get bored and start fighting. A good thing to do is toss a head of cabbage in there or toss in a big handful of scratch. Also, let them out as soon as the water receedes, so they can go out and chase bugs.
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Apr 17, 2012 01:35
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Can'tDecide: I'd see if anyone in your area has chicks about the same age to keep this one company, if this one is a poo poo-head, maybe even a little bit bigger, to keep them in line. Chickens are flock animals, and really don't do well on their own. Otherwise, I'd follow Chido's advice and make yourself their flock. BTW, that looks like a Rhode Island Red to me. jenelle: You can start giving them treats right away, as long as they are getting grit to help them digest the food. You can sometimes buy 'chick grit' if not parakeet grit will also work. Just sprinkle some on their chick starter like you were salting food heavily. The won't like being handled at first, but the more you handle them, the more used to it they will get.
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Apr 20, 2012 07:46
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Broody hens are always assholes. They hate everything that might possibly hurt their eggs, which is pretty much everything in the world. They are angry, hate-filled creatures. Its cute and hillarious.
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Apr 23, 2012 00:04
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Chicken feed can keep for years, if its kept in an airtight container. You don't mention how many chickens you are feeding, but, for scale, it takes my flock of ten chickens around 3 months to go through a 50lb bag of chicken feed. I keep mine in a metal trash can to keep rodents out, and haven't had a problem. The biggest problems will be bugs and moisture, and a good way to deal with that is to mix in some Diatomaceous earth. Make sure its the food/chemical grade, and not the stuff you use for pool filters. As for vet trips, I personally haven't used the vet. Personally, I'd rather humanely cull a sick bird than risk having them infect the rest of the flock, or become a carrier for something they do recover from. I'll treat for parasites, but that is about it. That said, I've only had to euthanize one hen, and that was because of internal laying. But I've been lucky. I think the key thing is to decide going into it what your limits are for medical care.
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May 1, 2012 05:25
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Zeta Taskforce-I haven't calculated percentages, but I can tell you what they eat. Every day, they get about two cups of 'scratch'-I don't use commercial scratch, I feed a mix of grain and black oil sunflower seeds, so their scratch is only slightly lower protein than their feed. They also get all the edible kitchen scraps (including meat scraps), which is usually enough to fill a big mixing bowl. Plus they get grass and whatever bugs wander into the coop. Nettle Soup: Congrats on the eggs! I want to hatch so incredibly badly. I wish I could get a incubator. My coop has been invaded by Viking Chickens and is full of cocks! I'll have to try to post pictures, since they are very cool looking. A guy I know hatches eggs all the time, and has started giving me his extra roos, to use for meat. This time, I got 2 Easter Eggers, and 3 Icelandic chickens. The Icelandics are descended from the chickens that the Vikings brought to Iceland when it was first settled, and are a really cool kind of chicken. They are also really rare, so I'm trying to find someone who would be willing to raise Icelandic or part-Icelandic chickens. Eating them just seems....wrong, since they are so rare. I'm for sure going to eat at least one of the Easter Eggers, since he's an aggressive little poo poo.
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May 2, 2012 07:23
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He would, but I can only have roosters if my neighbors don't mind. And I have one neighbor who minds.
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May 2, 2012 08:41
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By popular request, here are some pics of the Icelandic roosters. Believe it or not, they are all brothers. That is one of the cool things about Icelandics,you never know what is going to hatch. You can't quite tell it from this picture, but unlike the other too,this guy has a single comb.  Don't let the good looks fool you, this little dude is a real jerk.  They say that Icelandic chickens are never a single color, and 'they' seem to be right. This guy has a teeny patch of buff feathers right by his left wing. He is a very gentle, very sweet tempered little guy. I don't want a lap rooster, but this guy would be one if he got the chance. 
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May 4, 2012 19:00
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D'aww. Napoleon is soooo cute. I agree with Chido. 8 or 9 weeks, fully feathered and close to 'small adult' size is when I put mine in together. If they free range, or if you can let them out to free range, it helps to make things go smoother when everyone is tossed in. These guys aren't very big, but they aren't full grown yet. When they are full grown, they'll be on the small side, around 5 pounds.
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May 4, 2012 22:21
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ooooh, Vorwerks are so pretty! I had a Silver Lakenvelder, but she committed suicide by jumping into the yard of a (former) neighbor who owned a pitbull.
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May 7, 2012 03:27
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I'm always up for talking about chickens, you can IM me at Lewis.K.E@hotmail.com. Or just ask your questions here! What breeds do you like?
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May 10, 2012 00:29
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Its hard to be totally sure at that age, but he looks pretty drat rooish to me.
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May 15, 2012 06:20
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Yay! I'm so glad that he's doing good.
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May 25, 2012 19:52
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If you still have the body, you might find out if the Ag extension in your state will do a necropsy. Sometimes, they will even do it for free, or for the cost of shipping the remains.
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May 30, 2012 05:59
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At six weeks, you should have them on either flock raiser, or you can even keep them on chick starter until they are ready to switch over to layer feed. Putting them on layer feed too early most likely won't cause them to drop dead, but the calcium will put strain on their kidneys, which could cause them health problems later on. The fact that they are growing rapidly isn't a problem, its a good thing. Chickens will fill out a bit in the first year or two of their lives, but for they most part, they reach adult size somewhere between four and six months. That kind of rapid growth needs a lot of protein to sustain it, and you aren't doing them any favors by putting them on lower protein food during their peak growing months. Of course, if they're on grass, they might be getting enough bugs to offset it, and if you give them meat or scrambled eggs as a treat that will help with the protein as well. As far as the vet issue goes, there are a couple of vets in my area that will see chickens. It isn't something that I've had to deal with (knock on wood), and personally, my willingness to treat depends a lot on the disease. Injury, sure, I'll do my best to help the chicken recover, ditto parasites. On the other hand, a lot of the respiratory illnesses become chronic, or can spread to other flocks and into the wild bird population, and in those cases, I'm personally in favor of culling a sick chicken. In other, happier chicken news, I've found a home for the last Icelandic roo. I'm so happy, because he's a real sweetheart, and very handsome.
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May 31, 2012 22:28
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